London Islington Assembly Hall on saturday. Had a vile pint in the famous Hope & Anchor first so missed Time To Kill but saw Menace who were really good. Then it was the unmissable Vibrators reunion gig for the last time ever. £22 was a bit steep for a Vibes gig but was worth double to see the original and V2 lineups plus a couple of other guests as well as the current line up. Good turn out too, very pleased for Eddie. Knox was on good form.

The first band up tonight were Stone Heroes who hail from Croydon and South East London. There was a lot of talk outside of the Albert, with some coming to the gig just to see this band. I heard talk of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Killing Joke sound, which left me intrigued and looking forward to it.

The band came on stage and pretty much used every inch with all 6 members. The Stone Heroes are Janine Ray  vocals, Louise King  Rhythm Guitar, Dave Leak  Lead Guitar, Fleagle  Guitar/Synth, Martin Taylor  Bass and Lee Morrell  drums.

The sound of all those guitars was amazing and I was hooked from the very first 30 seconds. Each song was performed really tight and the lead singer Janine was real fun and a natural performer with a great voice. There were definitely influences from the Banshees and Killing Joke, that were cleverly crafted into each of the songs performed. I need to see them again soon and I am hunting for some recordings. Interestingly they have sold all their merchandise and need to get more.

The Vibrators have an amazing individual sound no matter who is playing in the band. The heart has always been Eddie, 42 years of heart beat and an amazing drummer to boot. ...

Around this time last year, I got to see a gig by The Mis-Made and was well impressed. Then a 4piece band, they're now a 3piece band, but still very good. They describe it as grunge, punk, pop, dark wave... whatever, I'd just call it "rock".Which is what they did! Thanks to my earplugs, it wasn't too loud. After their gig I went to the merch desk and was surprised to hear a welcome from the nice bassist: "you were here last year"! I'd only bought the cd and said thanks for the show and good-bye, but she remembered me! Based on this, I got a discount for the 7" single I bought and they all signed it and were glad that I came to see them a second time. https://themismade.com/

https://www.handsoffgretel.co.uk/Then there was another band supposed to be playing, called "Hands Off Gretel", a bit of a "hype" seemed to surround them. After a long wait, unfortunately, the guitarist had to announce that their singer (Lauren Tate) had a problem with her voice, hadn't spoken all day, but still not doing well... They were gonna try a few songs, the (female) bass player sang the first one. Then the singer came on and tried, but it was obvious she wasn't really at her best voice. Then a (female) fan was asked to try (she said she remembered all the words from singing along in her car) and she did a pretty good job (first time on stage, I guess)! They shared a few songs between all of them, but then it was over after a short time. Could've been better, but I'd come for The Mis-Made anyway, so I was happy. I received a sweet "good-bye" from their bass player and drummer before heading home...

The Vibrators and The Undead, Bowery Electric, New York. Nice small venue, good turnout and reaction for The Vibes who were excellent.Israel Vibration, Sony Music Hall, New York. Bonus gig the day after The Vibrators- a chance to see a band I'd never seen before. Surprised by the big venue and the fact there were lots of younger people in the audience to see the 2 old rastas who were backed by the legendary Roots Radics. Very enjoyable.